Following years of complaints of dust and noise pollution from the Chalk Pit site on College Road, Epsom, residents and local campaigners say that stricter council enforcement is still needed amidst claims that site owners are operating outside of the conditions of their planning permission. 

The land at The Chalk Pit, College Road, Epsom, Surrey is an industrial and commercial site home to several waste management facilities including Skip It Epsom Ltd and Epsom Skip Hire. 

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EPSOM AND EWELL TIMES EXCLUSIVE

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An application to transform what was a waste transfer site to a materials recycling centre was first made in 2017 but such an upscaling of operations remained unlicensed until 2 May 2023 when retrospective planning permission was granted by Surrey County Council (SCC). The permission is subject to several conditions including limitations on working hours as well as the containment of operations within a secondary building to mitigate resulting dust and noise pollution.

Reports from locals say that the site is much quieter in recent months attributing this to enforcement from Surrey County Council to turn off a loud trommel which previously operated at the site. However, they also report that operations are taking place outside of the agreed hours of working resulting in continued distress. 

Residents and local councillors have expressed repeated concerns since the change of operations in 2020 surrounding the impact of noise and dust to the mental and physical wellbeing of residents, as well as concerns surrounding the impact on the local environment. 

At present a building to contain operations is under construction and operations are continuing pending its completion. Skip It made an application to SCC on 4 May seeking permission to continue processing waste outside of a building for up to 6 months whilst the building is under construction. Residents express strong opposition to the redactions.

Campaigners, including MP for Epsom and Ewell, Chris Grayling, have asked that tighter council enforcement of the planning conditions be implemented as well as urging the Environment Agency (EA) to maintain tight control on the waste permit conditions and to ensure the building to enclose operations is fit for purpose. Residents have also expressed concern over the number of lorries at the site causing noise in neighbouring roads which cannot be contained. 

Skip It, who own the recycling centre, claim that their business has been victim to disproportionate targeting of complaints, saying that many of the passing vehicles belong to other site users and that their vehicle numbers are within council guidelines.

Skip It director, Mo Maan, told the Epsom and Ewell Times: “We modified a few things to suit our operation…no major change, because the building is going up.”

He continued: “If there was illegal activity, the Environment Agency and the council would have shut the site down, which they’re very good at doing. The same situation with dust – if the dust was so bad, don’t you think that we would have been shut down by now?”

In November 2021, however, a report by 7th Wave Acoustics stated that “it is likely that the noise from the on-site active processing operations will not result in adverse noise impact” and the site was “acceptable in noise assessment terms.”

Skip It director Mo Maan told Epsom and Ewell Times: “We’ve had noise assessments done, which cost me a fortune to get done – independently, and by the Environment Agency  and the council.” Maan continued: “We’ve got planning permission, we’re putting a building up, but they’re still complaining.” 

Former College Ward Epsom Councillor Nigel Collin told the Epsom and Ewell Times: “History has shown us that the operator plays the game well when it comes to observing the licence when a planning application is under consideration. Normal disruptive service resumes once the planning outcome is determined.”

On 25 July 2023 Councillor Bernie Muir put a motion to council proposing that they install professional noise measurement equipment around the Chalk Pit site, leaving the equipment in place for a minimum period of three months, and responding to any breaches of noise regulations on the site with the imposition of a noise abatement order. It was suggested that £60k be allocated to the project. A vote on the motion has been deferred to the next Environment Committee on October 17.

Cllr Muir told the Epsom and Ewell Times that previous monitoring had not been sufficient in identifying which landowner was causing the nuisance and hence the results of the assessments were “unactionable”.

Epsom and Ewell Borough Council (EEBC) has faced criticism from residents for failing to issue an abatement notice to cease operations during the period of unlicensed operations to put a stop to the resulting noise pollution.

Nigel Collin described the council’s handling of the situation as “inept” and expressed concern over the lack of an overarching person or body taking responsibility for the situation. 

EEBC told the Epsom and Ewell Times: “The areas of responsibility around the Chalk Pit site are complex and EEBC, SCC Planning and the EA all have different roles. EEBC have taken a leading role in co-ordinating a multi-organisational response to the various issues arising from the site. This includes regular multi-agency co-ordination briefings and a commitment to continue working with all agencies in trying to improve the lived experience of those living near to the Chalk Pit.”

“EEBC takes its responsibilities to all residents seriously and will always act where sufficient evidence is found of a statutory nuisance. The evidence gathered during the noise monitoring demonstrated that there was certainly audible noise at times from the site which could be considered as having a negative impact on the local amenity, but not enough to be considered a statutory nuisance.”

Nigel Collin, who has been a key figure in the fight against the unlicensed operations, said the definition of statutory nuisance was ‘more than met’.

Efforts from councillors to enforce restrictions at the Chalk Pit have been cross-party with councillors Steve McCormick (RA), John Beckett (RA) and Bernie Muir (Con) and Kieran Persand (Con) at the forefront of negotiations.

Epsom and Ewell Borough Council said that they have not closed the case and that they will continue to work with the SSC and the  Environment Agency to ensure statutory nuisance thresholds are not exceeded.

Epsom and Ewell is the greenest local authority in the UK, according to most recent data. Industries located in the borough produced 5 kilotons of carbon dioxide per year in 2020, a Utility Bidder report has shown.

The report also showed the most polluting businesses in the UK to be those in the electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply industries which produce almost 81,000 ktCO2e of greenhouse gas emissions per year. This is followed by the manufacturing and transport and storage industries. 

Neath Port Talbot had the most greenhouse gas emissions with 6,356 kt of CO2. Located in South Wales, it is a key producer of steel and tinplate.

East Renfrewshire had the second lowest emissions with 5.5 ktCO2e and The Orkney Islands was third with 8 ktCO2e of greenhouse gas emissions.

The report drew on data from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and the Office for National Statistics. The report does not include data for consumer expenditure.

Epsom and Ewell Borough Council say on their website: “Under the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999, certain industries require a permit to operate. This permit contains various conditions in order to minimise the emissions of pollutants to the air. Our Environmental Health service carries out periodic inspections to make sure these industries are compliant with the conditions of their permit.”

“I didn’t think I would ever be able to run 10k” said Epsom man and Crohn’s disease sufferer Harry Reed. But he will now compete in the London race on 9 July to raise awareness of disease.

Last year, after a long battle with Crohn’s Disease, 24-year-old Harry Reed weighed just 48kg. Today he is training for the ASICS London 10k and is in his best health of recent years. “I’m super excited,” says Harry who is due to compete on July 9.

“My knee’s been playing up recently, so I’ve had to take it easy over the last couple of weeks…but apart from that…I have a feeling it’s going to go very well.” Before [developing Crohn’s] I was an athlete,” says Harry who grew up in Epsom. “I was a county sprinter and I actually qualified for the county races.”

After losing much of his strength due to illness Harry’s race preparation now incorporates muscle training to help with his endurance. “All the strength that you’d normally build up in like your joints, I lost it. So, I’m currently doing a lot of work to kind of build up the strength in my ligaments, tendons and around my
knees and ankles.”

Crohn’s Disease is a chronic condition which causes parts of the gut to become swollen and inflamed resulting in symptoms including pain, diarrhoea, weight loss and extreme tiredness.

Harry developed Crohn’s in 2015 when, after a calf muscle injury, he contracted glandular fever later leading to the onset of his disease. The route to a diagnosis was not straight forward and Harry spent his GCSEs through to A levels in and out of hospitals. “They just couldn’t figure it out because my blood tests weren’t coming back with anything specific that was wrong,” Harry says.

Harry was finally diagnosed in 2017, 2 years after his symptoms began. But, that year, during an initial surgery to treat the Crohn’s, Harry developed life threatening infections of the blood and stomach lining known as sepsis and peritonitis. He was transferred from Epsom to St Helier’s hospital for emergency surgery.

“I wasn’t expected to live. So that was a bit of a miracle in itself…I had to basically say goodbye to my parents, my family at that time because we all knew that it wasn’t good.”

The complications did not end there. In 2019, Harry developed hair loss known as alopecia. He also experienced two rounds of failed drug treatments which led to a severe return of symptoms in 2022.

“My diet sort of got narrower and narrower about things that were okay for me to eat…by the end of September [2022], I had not been able to eat for a couple of weeks. I ended up going into hospital through A&E due to the backlog of patients with COVID.”

Harry was given intravenous nutrition before undergoing further surgery to remove the problem part of his bowel. Thankfully the operation was a success, and it was in 2022 that Harry was able to rediscover
his love for running.

“When I first started…. it went terribly. But it felt great when I got back, to actually feel like I accomplished something or at least to have that sort of exercise endorphin release. Mentally the fog had been lifted for just a moment which was really great.”

“As I was able to eat more, my body was able to take in more calories, my strength grew. By November of 2022 I was given the kind of all clear by my surgeon… It’s been a blessing to be able to do it for myself and prove to myself that I can do it. I didn’t think I would ever be able to run 10k so to be able to feel confident about doing a good job is so exciting.”

Harry will run to raise awareness of the disease, which affects over 1 in 123 people in the UK*.

“It’s an invisible illness – you’ll never know if someone’s got Crohn’s,” says Harry. “I think the tough thing… is realising the severity and the kind of the intensity that people suffer when it comes to the flare ups. It’s something that is really hard to put into perspective. I think also the lack of energy that you have…it’s like you have to work 10 times as hard. And most of the time your output is 10 times less. I think once you can be educated, you can then have empathy towards people and some more understanding”.

Harry currently works as a creative director for a publishing house start-up based in Epsom, where he lives with his fiancé. His upcoming race will be the start of many, with plans to run the Bacchus Wine 10k at Denbies Wine Estate in September.

You can find out more about Harry’s upcoming race at

https://limelightsports.club/event/asics-london-10k-2023.

*Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis – stats from Crohn’s and Colitis UK

Plans to introduce fees to Epsom and Ewell Borough’s currently free of charge tennis courts are underway, after several proposals were agreed upon by councillors at a meeting of the Environment Committee on Tuesday (13th June 2023). The plans will rely on the approval of a £20,000 grant from the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) to cover the cost of a new gating and booking system.

The proposed fees start at £6 per court per hour with a maximum 5 people £40 household annual subscription available allowing for free bookings of up to 2 hours days. A 50% discount on the subscription is proposed for those in receipt of low-income benefits. Proposals would see the courts bookable three days in advance for those wishing to pay for a single session and up to seven days in advance for subscribers.

Proposed tennis court hourly costs: Ad hoc cost all courts £6.00. Additional cost for floodlit courts £6.00. Annual household subscription costs £40.00 and £20 for those in receipt of low- income benefits.

Income generated from the booking fees would be set aside solely for court maintenance, in line with recommendations agreed upon by the Committee.

Professional coaches will be required to book specific coaching slots and be prohibited from using regular ad-hoc or subscription booking services.

The report put forward to the Committee said that: “The agreement will ensure that court availability for casual play is protected, the core purpose of the parks. This will include restricting the coaching providers to a defined total number of hours to deliver the programme and ensuring that there is always a certain number of courts available for casual play.” 

Coaches will also be required to provide a one-hour free community coaching session each week as part of their booking agreement.  

If the LTA grant is approved, Epsom and Ewell Borough Council would be required to pay a £2,380 annual subscription for a 5-year period to cover the cost of servicing and maintaining the gates and online booking system. 

The LTA has estimated the uptake annual subscriptions in the borough to be £1400 with annual income generated from the courts estimated at £27,107. 

The Council currently provides and maintains 12 public tennis courts across the borough at 5 sites which are currently available free of charge to recreational players.

 Alexandra Recreation Ground, Alexandra Road (three courts) 
 Court Recreation Ground, off Pound Lane (three courts) 
 Poole Road Recreation Ground, Poole Road (two courts) 
 Gibraltar Recreation Ground, West Street (two courts) 
 Auriol Park, Salisbury Road (two courts)

The report put forward to the Committee describes the current lack of service charge as a “missed opportunity for income generation.” 

It also expresses concern for a delay in action stating that: “if we don’t pursue this opportunity the funding pot available will be depleted and an opportunity to implement the gate system to help the sustainability of our tennis courts will be missed.” 

The date for implementation of the new gates and booking system is currently estimated for September 2023.

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